Dictionary

open book en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Something whose salient aspects are obvious or easily interpreted.
   • There is one, with a dark and thoughtful eye, Who is to all others a mystery; But his soul is to me an open book, And I read his mood in his slightest look; ... 1860, Abby Maria Hemenway, “The Priest and The Maiden”, in Poets and Poetry of Vermont:
   • This is the secret of Hegel, and the key to his hieroglyphics, and, if consistently used to interpret the sayings of his logic, it becomes an open book. 1898, John Wesley Powell, Truth and Error or the Science of Intellection:
   • On the surface of the ground or through the swaying branches of the trees the spoor of man or beast was an open book to the ape-man, but even his acute senses were baffled by the spoorless trail of the airship. 1921, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan the Untamed:
   • 2009, May 21, Barack Obama, speech, Protecting Our Security and Our Values But I have never argued – and never will – that our most sensitive national security matters should be an open book.
2. (idiomatic) A person who responds candidly to questions or openly displays their emotions or intentions.
   • Emile's most striking characteristic is that he hides nothing. He is an open book, acting the same in private as in public — "Emile is worse at disguising his feelings than any man in the world." 2002, Linda Lange, Feminist Interpretations of Jean-Jacques Rousseau:
   • Chapter 3: Are You an Open Book? How Much Do I Need to Disclose? 1997, Matthew J. DeLuca, Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions:
   • He is an open book. Everyone can see that he removes nothing, conceals nothing, reserves nothing for himself. 1986, Adrienne von Speyr, Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Christian State of Life:
3. An open book decomposition.
4. An inside angle in the rock.

Forms

Antonyms

closed book (antonym(s) of “person who is candid”)

Relateds

open-book contract · wear one's heart on one's sleeve · en clair · open secret · open access book (open publication)

Synonyms

one who wears one's heart on one's sleeve (person who is candid)

Translations (23)

cmn 易於了解的人 /易于了解的人 (person who is honest or open) · hu nyitott könyv (thing easily interpreted) · de offenes Buch (person who is honest or open) · it libro aperto (thing easily interpreted) · pt livro aberto (thing easily interpreted) · it libro aperto (person who is honest or open) · fi avoin kirja (person who is honest or open) · ru откры́тая кни́га (thing easily interpreted) · es libro abierto (thing easily interpreted) · fr livre ouvert (thing easily interpreted) · pl oczywistość (thing easily interpreted) · nl open boek (person who is honest or open) · pl naiwniaczka (person who is honest or open) · de offenes Buch (thing easily interpreted) · pl naiwniak (person who is honest or open) · cmn 胸無城府的人 /胸无城府的人 (person who is honest or open) · ru на лбу́ напи́сано (person who is honest or open) · ru откры́тая кни́га (person who is honest or open) · pt livro aberto (person who is honest or open) · cmn 一目瞭然的事物 /一目了然的事物 (thing easily interpreted) · fi avoin kirja (thing easily interpreted) · es libro abierto (person who is honest or open) · fr ravi de la crèche (person who is honest or open)